


PuNK

by H3y_AssButt01



Category: Uncharted, Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slight Violence, Slow Burn Romance, Smut, Used substances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26598127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H3y_AssButt01/pseuds/H3y_AssButt01
Summary: By day, she’s his invisible assistant. By night, she’s a rockstar. When her boss Rafe Adler rediscovers his rebellious streak and love for hard rock, will he finally see her?
Relationships: Rafe Adler x OC, Rafe Adler x Reader, Rafe Adler/OC, Rafe Adler/Reader, Sam Drake x OC - Relationship, Sam Drake/OC, Sam Drake/Rafe Adler, Samuel Drake x Reader - Relationship, Samuel Drake/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**_Lyric’s POV_ **

He was doing it again. Much like every day lately, he’d been in a verbal argument with someone over the phone during a conference. And lucky me, I got a front row seat to every single word. His office was right in front of my desk. The whole office seemed to quiet as muffled screams could be heard throughout the room. My co-worker Winter looked over from her desk to show me her gums and suck air through her teeth.

“You’re gonna have  _ so _ much fun tonight!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm and I rolled my eyes. This meant there was going to be so much paperwork to do before I left. I groaned, digging my fingers into my hair and scratching at it in annoyance. I wore wigs to work because my actual hair would’ve been considered “less than favorable” in my work environment. ‘ _ Horseshit. _ ’ I thought. I settled for dark curls in order to remotely retain a professional image. Suddenly, it had gotten eerily quiet. He stopped shouting in his office and the air was back to normal. Or so I thought.

“LYRIC LEWIS!” I heard him snap suddenly, making my jump out of my seat a bit. I took a deep breath, eyeballing Winter as I adjusted my grey pantsuit. My blush colored heels clicked on the tiles as I rounded my desk with my hefty clipboard in hand. I pushed open his opaque glass door cautiously. I took a moment to center myself as I put my hand on the door and turned the knob.

“Yes, Mr. Adler?” I asked him calmly. Not that it would do me any good. He rested his face in his hands in irritation. To Rafe Adler, I was his rather invisible assistant. He never looked me in the face. If he did he saw right through me and never paid much attention. But he knew my voice. I didn’t mind but there’s this thing called respect…

“Ms. Lewis, please tell me there are no more idiots I have to conference with this afternoon.” He grumbled, rubbing his fingers into his bluish green eyes. As tired as he was, they looked a little gray today. I flipped through his schedule that I had written down as he leaned back into his chair. For a moment, I glanced up to look at him. Rafe was a handsome man. Stuffy but handsome. His hair was cut short on the sides as the length on top was slicked back off of his almost model-like face and when he did smile, which was very rarely, it was like a million watts. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers repeatedly at me with a growl.

“C’mon, Lyric! I don’t have all day!” He rushed me. And I flipped to today’s date. I ran my finger down the time slots to see what else was on the agenda for the day.

“Um… I believe that was all for today, sir. No more conference calls-”

“ _ Thank God! _ ” He sighed, dramatically. My face contorted a bit as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “What else is there to do today?”

“You have a meeting with Chovak, sir, at 2pm. Early dinner with Samuel and Nathan Drake at 5? And then you had me put down paperwork hours from 7:30 til midnight.” I read everything off exactly as it was written. He hummed as he rummaged through the files on his desk.

“Make it 9. Dinner may take a little longer than I expect.” He said with a sigh. “That’ll be all, Ms. Lewis. Thank you.” He said as he began scribbling things on sheets of paper and tapping on his laptop. Not once did he look at me through this whole interaction. That was most days though. 

“Did you need me to sit in on the meeting, sir?” I asked, pulling a pen from behind my ear and editing a time slot. I was hoping he’d say no. I still hadn’t had breakfast yet and I was starving. 

“Yes.” He said simply. My expression faltered and I pursed my lips to keep from making a face. Of course I had to stay.

“Absolutely, sir. I’ll be going now.” I said with slight irritation but he didn’t seem to notice. He was already caught up in more work. I turned on my heel and just as I put a hand on the door, he called to me again.

“Oh, one more thing!” He said. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at him.

“What is it, sir?” I asked.

“Would you be a doll and run down to Starbucks for me?” He said.

“Of course, sir. The usual?” I asked pulling out my phone to pre-order the drink. It would be done by the time I got there.

“Yes and add a croissant.” He mumbled.

“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” I said with a fake smile. Not that he’d see it anyway.

I went back to my desk and sat down with a sigh of relief. “That wasn’t so bad…” I said to myself as I put in Rafe’s order. After a few seconds of mental rest, I stood again and grabbed my black trench coat off the back of my seat.

“Goin’ somewhere?” Winter asked as I slipped on my coat.

“ _ The King wants his coffee. _ ” I told her in an exaggerated attempt at a British accent. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Best not keep him waiting then.” She said, pushing her cropped hair over her ear as I left.

  
  
  


Work that night was more or less the same. The office would be absolutely empty except for Rafe and myself. He would leave his door open to tell things to me or ask me to change/cancel appointments and meetings he didn’t have time for or just honestly couldn’t be bothered with. All the lights in the building had been turned off except the desk lamps to conserve energy (Good on him) so it was rather dim. I was playing music on my speaker. A hard rock station on my radio app. I had a gig tonight and I needed to amp myself up and rush through these emails and paperwork. I kept the volume low. Low enough for only myself to hear. My earphones had broken a week ago and I hadn’t had the chance to get new ones yet. 

Green Day was playing softly as I worked. My eyes were getting heavy and started to burn a little. I needed to get out of the office  _ soon.  _ I bopped my head to the music until I heard movement and an annoyed sigh from Rafe’s office. I looked up a brief moment and he was looking right at me. Or more like right through me. His neatly trimmed brow raised as he rested his head in his hand. I gasped a little and pushed my hair off of my face nervously.

“If you’re going to play music, turn it up. All I can hear from here is static. Don’t be selfish.” He grumbled before looking back at his work. My eyes widened at his demand. And I was sure Green Day was  _ not _ on his daily ten playlist. I turned the music up but I definitely got ready to change the station. But he stopped me without even looking at me. “And don’t you  _ dare _ change this song.” He said. A look of amusement played on my face as I went back to work. 

‘ _ What do you know about Green Day, Rafe Adler? _ ’ I thought with a faint chuckle. Another hour passed and I was almost finished with a final email. I looked up a second to check on my boss’s sanity as we’d been listening to punk and hard rock for a while now. The Pixies began playing and the sight in front of me was one I’m sure he would make me swear to secrecy. He was slouched into his chair with a leg crossed over the other; his ankle resting on his knee as he wiggled his foot to the music, tapping his pen on the table rhythmically to the drums. His curved lips just gently mumbled the words to the song. His sleeves were rolled to his forearms and his tie was loosened with a couple of buttons undone. And his hair. A few strands had fallen out of place but for the moment he didn’t seem to mind. It was very rare that I saw him like this. Whenever it happened it was always a nice surprise.

I felt the corner of my lips turn a little as I signed off the email and sat back in relief.  _ Finally _ . I gathered everything together and stood from my desk to head into Rafe’s office. He seemed to notice my presence from his peripheral and pointed to a spot on his desk that  _ wasn’t  _ covered in paper. 

“Leave it there.” He said and I did as I was told.

“I wrote responses to all of your emails and sent them back to you for you to review and send out. All of your appointments and meetings are up to date, dry cleaning should be here in the morning, and….” There was something else and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“ _ And _ … you’ll be here first thing in the morning, cafe latte with extra espresso. I told you I had a meeting with the Drake Brothers.” He added.

“Of course. There’s a meeting in the morning. I completely forgot.” I mumbled.

“I know you did. You always do…” he hummed disapprovingly, rereading a sheet of paper. I hung my head a bit in embarrassment. Not that he saw that.

“Sorry, sir.” I said as my phone vibrated in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, it had been a text from my band mate, Clay. My eyes widened reading the text in all caps.

CLAY:  _ WHERE R U?! WE GO ON AT 11!! _

My heart dropped and I checked the black watch on my wrist and groaned. It was 10:15. I had stayed at work longer than intended and now I was late for the show. And I  _ still _ had to change my clothes and do my makeup. I looked up at Rafe for a moment as he smoothed his hair back into place.

“Is there anything else you need from me tonight, sir?” I asked him. Once again without even looking at me, he waved me off with a grumble. “Alright then. I’ll see you in the morning!”

“At 7:30-”

“7:30?!” I exclaimed in surprise. I was going to be absolutely dog tired. Did he really need me for that? I knew he had a tendency to have me work ridiculously hours but come on! I have a life! I had music to write, songs to record, shows to book….

“Is there a problem?” He asked in a slightly unnerving tone. I chuckled and shook my head.

“No, sir! Not a problem at all.” I lied. “7:30 sharp. I’ll be here.”

“Then that will be all, Ms. Lewis. Goodnight.” He said monotonously.

“Goodnight, sir.” I said softly, scuttling out of the room to grab my things from my desk. I turned the speaker off and just as I turned to leave, I heard him sigh tiredly. Normally, I wasn’t one to care about how my boss was doing but Rafe looked  _ really  _ exhausted. He was swamped with paperwork and his lunch appointment took a little longer just as he suspected. He ended up cutting into his set hours. I kind of felt bad for him. Leaving him alone with all of that. Then I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and it quickly reminded me that I had somewhere to be. I briskly ran towards the elevators so I could leave.

  
  


I did everything I could to prepare and get ready for the show. I hopped in my car, a beat up black hatchback, and turned on the car light. Adjusting my rear view mirror on me, I grabbed my makeup and began to put on more and darken it. With that I drove to the venue, hoping and praying I wouldn’t hit any traffic. My phone rang as I drove and it was my band mate again. I answered in an overwhelmed voice.

“ _ I’m coming, Clay! _ ” I said as I weaved in and out of New York traffic like an idiot. He sounded irritated. But so was I. If I hadn’t needed to do so much tonight, I would’ve been there sooner. I hung up the phone as I pulled into the alleyway near the venue and hopped into the backseat to change into something a little more appropriate. A black knitted dress that was as see through as it could get with a high split. Beneath it, a yellow bodysuit and fishnet tights. I exchanged my pink pumps for black stiletto boots and I struggled very hard to get into this look inside the car. The easy part was changing my retainer for my septum hoop. But when I finally got dressed, I grabbed my keys, wallet, and jacket, rolling out of the trunk of the hatchback and beginning to close it like it was no big deal. I went to adjust my hair when I remembered I still was wearing my wig. Quickly I snatched it and the wig cap off, revealing blonde locks with a tinge of pink at the tips, dressed up with silver hair rings and silver beaded charms. The side of my hair was braided back and decorated with tiny silver hair clamps. I shook out my tousled hair and tossed it in the back seat, locking my car. When I felt like I was all set, I pulled my jacket on and walked into the side of the building.

A bouncer stood there, guarding the door. I placed my hands on my hip and looked at him with a thick raised brow as his eyes scanned my body up and down. “Yo, I’m with Floral and Fading.” I told him with a bit of bass in my voice.

“How do I know you’re not just some groupie?” He asked me. To think that I looked like a groupie of my own band was quite hilarious to me. We had a pretty big following but I didn’t think we were  _ that  _ big yet. Not having time nor energy to deal with convincing this guy that I needed to get by him, I scoffed and called Clay. I told him I was at the venue and he came, opening the door next to the bouncer.

“ _ Shit _ , Lyric! You’re cuttin’ it kinda close, my friend!” My blonde spikey haired friend said with a smile. I looked at the bouncer and he gestured to let me in. I was already walking through the door though. “You look nice!” He shouted to me above the muffled bass, wiggling his brows. He was flirting with me again. It was never anything serious and he did it clearly for jokes. I was used to it after 4 years. He was the first friend I made in New York. We started the band after discovering that we were both musicians. We grabbed a pair of brothers that played guitar and bass, Clay played drums, and I mained vocals. A couple of months later we were playing our first show at this punk club. When word got around, it became every weekend. Underground famous. And still I worked this office job every day. Running myself ragged to keep myself happy and alive.

“How long til we go on?” I asked, shrugging my jacket off.

“5 minutes! Everyone is all tuned up and ready to go, your mic is set up just how you like, and the speakers work today surprisingly! Double checked them myself!” He smiled, parting his pierced lips to give a toothy grin, rubbing his eyes, probably forgetting that he was wearing eyeliner. It only smudged a bit, making his eyes look smokey.

“Well don’t jinx us just yet. There’s still a possibility they could go out mid scream.” I chuckled. He handed me a bottle of water and I began to chug it like no tomorrow as he led me to the band’s waiting room. They were all there. Singing, laughing, smoking, warming up, drinking a beer, just having a great time. Seeing them still be excited to play here after 4 years made me happy and excited for the night’s show. I did a few quick vocal exercises and did my jumping jacks to hype myself up and before I knew it, we were ready to go on.

The club owner went out on stage to introduce us and the crowd yelled rather loudly. I looked back at the band and grinned hard. There was nothing like hearing a happy crowd. I watched them turn the stage lights red. He hyped them up as we amped ourselves and shook the nerves. Sweat was beginning to form on my forehead already but it was fine. I didn’t care. The moment I heard him call Floral and Fading, the band and myself ran up the stairs and onto the rather small stage. I pulled the mic off the stand and addressed the crowd as if I would a familiar friend. I grinned as Clay began counting off beats with the crash cymbals and the band began to play aggressively and skillfully. I moved the rhythm, headbanging and revving the crowd up as they moshed and jumped around. Then I melodically began to deliver words I had sat countless hours writing carefully in order to get my stories and messages across. And the night went on...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Rafe’s POV_ **

I sat with my hands crossed beneath my chin. I took a deep breath and sighed. I managed to clear 75% of my desk of forms and files, made sure my documents were in the proper folders for the morning meetings, and mentally murdered myself at least fifty times in the process. ‘ _ Yup… you did it, Rafe. _ ’ I thought as I scratched at the stubble growing in on my chin. I groaned tiredly. It was time to shave again. I had half a mind to just give up on the upkeep of myself just so I could run this company and get some proper sleep. But with me being in the public eye, I guess I had no choice. My publicist insisted that I wore only the best suits and kept myself neat in appearance at all times. But holy hell was it a lot of work. It was exhausting. 

I leaned back in my seat, finally able to take a breather after completing a  _ mountain _ of paperwork. ‘ _ I need a drink… maybe four…. _ ’ I hummed to myself as I began reviewing the emails pre-written by my assistant Lyric. She was a good one. Of all the assistants I’ve had she was by far the best and lasted the longest. When her sister, Diana from accounting, referred her to me, I was skeptical. But she showed up her first day and I barely had to worry about a thing. Hardly ever laid eyes on her. I’d just tell her to do something and I could always rely on her to do it. And do it well. It’s a wonder she hadn’t quit like the others to be frank. I smirked as I read through her work. She was so polite and formal with her words it was almost boring me to death. There was no bite nor were there any sharp words to her emails declining meetings or refusing offers. They were very tactful. I would’ve edited them a little but I was tired of working for the night so I sent them all anyway. Remembering her choice in music, I had suddenly got a long forgotten hunger to hear more bands. I used to have a punk phase in my younger years. I guess the streak just never went away. Punk truly never dies.

There was a dive bar I passed frequently on the way to work. I never went in but every time I passed it, it would peak my interest and I’d think about it. After tonight, I finally felt like going. I turned my lamp off and grabbed my coat to head towards the elevator and out of the building. Not even bothering to fix my shirt and tie, I shrugged on my overcoat to shield me from the chilly winds that blew between the tall buildings. I took a taxi for the hell of it. I needed a moment to myself so I sent my driver home for a change. It dropped me off in front of the small punk club, strobed and colored lights going off rapidly inside. I could hear the band playing from the other side of the street. I paid my fare and started to cross the street to go inside.

It was a dark and dingy looking club that reeked of cigarettes and alcohol. I’m sure if I sniffed harder, which I didn’t do, I could’ve picked out a bit of marijuana as well. A majority of the club was crowded wall to wall as a band played passionately for them. I went to the bar and ordered myself a bottle of Tennessee Whiskey before finding myself a nice secluded area in a dark corner somewhere. Where I could enjoy the show in peace. I sat my jacket next to me in my booth and poured a bit of whiskey in my glass. After that first sip burned its way down my throat, I felt plenty relaxed. I could slouch into my corner and properly enjoy the music. That’s when my attention was brought to a striking woman on stage.

Tanned golden skin, full and plush lips that pulled back when she smiled or snarled as she sang. Her golden locs pulled back on the sides and dressed in hair silver jewelry. The dress she wore was barely there but it clung to her perfectly, exposing her strong shoulders and glowing collarbones. The split in her dress ran up to the crook of her hip, revealing long toned legs. I barely looked at anyone else the whole show. Her voice was deep, strong, and soulful. Powerful and tender when it needed to be and I fell in  _ love _ with her voice. It wasn’t one to be so easily forgotten. She was an absolute goddess. It had been a long time since I had been star struck like this. 

The audience seemed to love them as they played. Screaming out the words as if they’d heard the songs a hundred times before. I couldn’t lie, they made a fan out of me. I continued to drink until their final song and I hardly even put a dent in the bottle. I had already paid for it though so I figured I’d just take it home. As I stood up, I stumbled a bit. Being drunk and exhausted didn’t mix very well at all and I knew that but I didn’t care for the time being. I shouted along with the audience, giving the band I later learned was called Floral and Fading their due applause. I heard that they’d be around all weekend and I’d be damned if I missed another show. 

I filed out of the club along with its loyal club goers and signaled myself a taxi to take me home. When I arrived, I practically tossed all my clothes off on my way to the bedroom and crashed on my bed, humming a line from one of the songs I heard from the band that night. ‘ _ Seriously they were so good…. _ ’ I thought. “WHAT THE FUCK!” I exclaimed with a surprised chuckle. I enjoyed my time at the dank punk club. It opened a part of me that I hadn’t seen or felt in a decade. I huffed into my pillow as I kicked my socks off and straddled the bed just barely. I continued humming my problems and stressors away until I was fast asleep. The morning would be a new day and I had something to look forward to. And hell, maybe I’d invite my assistant. Of the 4 years she worked for me, we never took the time to at the very least grab a drink. I hardly even remembered what she looked like in all terrible honesty. I made a mental note to fix that although as drunk as I was, I probably wouldn’t even remember…


	3. Chapter 3

**_Lyric’s POV_ **

There I was. Up at 6 in the morning. Standing in line. At Starbucks. For overpriced coffee. That he probably wouldn’t even finish. My eyes were dried out and my neck hurt a little this morning. ‘ _ I gotta cool it on the head bangin’ tonight… _ ’ I thought.

It was cold as hell and the street walkers of New York seemed ruder than normal. I somehow managed to get up and dress myself; a powder blue collared shirt tucked into a light gray pencil skirt with a well fitted blazer to match. My trench coat was thick enough to keep me warm but still I shivered. I was tired. I had just done a show last night and it was only the beginning. I sang and screamed my heart out and the audience felt my dedication. That was all I asked for. As good as we played, I should’ve been partying with the band. But here I was. Up at 6 in the morning. Standing in a goddamn line. At goddamn Starbucks. Waiting for overpriced goddamn coffee. That he probably wouldn’t even goddamn finish goddammit… “Order for Rafe Adler!” the barista called out. I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes as I went to retrieve the coffee. 

When I arrived at work, I greeted the receptionist as I always did, said my what’s ups to the coworkers I was cool with, and entered the conference room to set up the stupid little snack plate and pitcher of ice cold cucumber water. Usually I would set up contracts and paperwork and files on opposite ends of the table but there was nothing like that for this meeting. He’d mentioned a couple times to me last week that the meeting today would be a little unorthodox. So I did the bare minimum and sat waiting. I snuck a few pieces of fruit while I did. 

Some time had passed and I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t crazy. My boss was usually no more than 10 minutes late if  _ anything.  _ I picked up my phone to call him. We told the Drake brothers to be here at 8:30. The first try, it went straight to voicemail at which I hung up and tried again. When he didn’t answer the second time, I left a very stressed out and  _ slightly _ mouthy message. Then I went to the front desk to ask the receptionist if she’d heard from him. When she said no, I placed my hands on my hips and groaned. I went back to the conference room and sat down to wait a little longer, stress eating the fruit plate. The third time, he answered surprisingly. I gasped audibly in relief. 

“What the hell, Rafe?!” I snapped. “It is now going on 8:20 and you are nowhere to be found! Where the hell are you?!” It was silent on the other end until he gave a tired groan.

“Shit…. the meeting.” He said.

“ _ Yeah! ‘Shit! The meeting! _ ’” I exclaimed. He sighed and I heard some rustling on the other end before he finally spoke.

“Are they there yet?”

“No not yet.”

“Good. Then I may have some time. I’ll be there soon. Get them whatever they want.” He ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and Ms. Lewis?”

“Yes, sir?”

“If you  _ ever _ talk to me like that again, I will have you fired before you even  _ think  _ about having breakfast.” He told me. My heart stopped for a moment. Maybe I was a little  _ too _ mouthy in my voicemail.

“Yes. Sorry, sir.” I apologized awkwardly before hanging up.

I stayed put and sat resting my head in my arms, staring at my watch. It was now 9:15. Neither Rafe nor the brothers had shown up yet. ‘ _ This is fucking ridiculous… _ ’ I thought. How was it that I was ordered to be present early and I ended up being the only one on time? I groaned loudly, rubbing my fingers against my temples. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. When it opened, a man’s head popped out rather curiously and obviously very lost. He was a little older than myself. Longish curly brown hair pushed back off of his ruggedly charming face. His thick salt and pepper brows raised above his bright hazel eyes almost like a puppy.

“Sorry to bother ya, sweetheart. I was told this was the conference room?” He asked, his voice sounding with a very distinct Boston accent. I made a face and pointed to the words on the door.

“It’s literally marked ‘ _ conference room _ ’...” I said with a bit of attitude. I couldn’t deal with riff raff this early in the morning. He looked at the door and chuckled.

“Ha! So it does. Guess I’m gonna need to invest in a pair of glasses soon, huh?” He said with a handsome grin. A small smile pulled at my lips and I found myself adjusting my hair like a teenager. He was a  _ good _ looking guy. “Sorry, I’m a little late. Traffic is a bitch here. I’m Sam Drake. I was supposed to be meeting with Rafe here in his…..palace.” He smirked, walking out from behind the door. His little jab at my boss made me chuckle a little but still my stomach flipped at the mention of his name. However, I liked what I saw when he entered the room.

Rafe never mentioned that the Drake Brothers were this handsome. I quite literally had to look up at this man. He was freakishly tall. He wore a denim jacket with the fleece inside, a grey thermal, and dirty jeans with equally dirty work boots. And he had a tattoo of a flock of birds on the left side of his neck. In his long arms he carried a map and a few folders, a backpack slung over his wide shoulders. He put his things down on the table and extended a large rough hand to me. I barely met his chest and I was in heels. When I stood, I awkwardly pushed my hair behind my ear and took his hand to shake it firmly. I was a bit embarrassed that I’d been a little snippy with him. 

“Lyric Lewis. Mr. Adler’s Assistant. I’m sorry for my mouth…” I said like an idiot. I hung my head and he chuckled. “I mean, I’m sorry for how I spoke to you when you came in.” I rephrased, suddenly getting lost in his honey colored eyes. I couldn’t stop looking at them. And the worse part of all, was that I was still holding his hand. I giggled nervously, pulling my hand away and taking a step back from him. 

“Ah, it's alright. Rafe runnin’ you ragged I see?” He asked as he began to set up whatever he brought with him.

“Tell me about it.” I grumbled and he just smiled.

“Speaking of your boss, he’s not here yet is he?” He asked me.

“No, sir, he’s a little late himself.” I answered. His ears turned a little red when I addressed him that way but it was my job to be polite where Rafe tended to… well not.

“Well good. Maybe we can keep my being late just between us, heh?” He winked at me and it was like I’d been shot with an arrow. He had trouble written all over him and like the dummy I was, I’d fallen for it. I grinned stupidly and nodded. If this was one of the brothers, I couldn’t even imagine what the other was like.

“He doesn’t even have to know, sir.” I smirked. When he finished setting up what looked to be like a couple of maps and tools, he leaned over the table to look inside the water pitcher as the cucumber slices floated about and frowned.

“You got anything other than Rafe’s tears to drink?” He asked me as he sat down in a chair and kicked his large boots up on the table. I tried my best to suppress a laugh and answered his question.

“We have a soda machine…. and coffee from the break room.” I said.

“Regular coffee, right? Not that milky shit people are drinkin’ nowadays?” He asked brashly. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I burst into laughter and he grinned from ear to ear, obviously scanning my body from head to toe. I placed a hand on my hip and eyed him just as he did me.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just regular shitty office coffee.” I responded, trying to compose myself but I had a smile on my face for once.

“ _ Perfect _ . That’s all I need.” He said, taking off his heavy denim jacket to reveal an upper body swollen with muscle. I cried inside a little. Just a little.

Just then, the door opened and Rafe came barging in, a cloud of stress looming over him. You could feel it in the room, how he was going to be today, and it wasn’t a very positive vibe. He groaned, sitting his suitcase on the floor next to his chair and shrugged off his pea coat as he sat down in front of his coffee (which was now cold). Before I had the chance to warn him, he’d already taken a sip and he spat it out immediately. Just all over the table, dramatic as hell. I noticed Sam roll his eyes as I sighed. Today was not going to be my day. I didn’t really know what to do at that moment. I just kind of… stared. In surprise.

“ _ This is disgusting! _ ” He snapped, throwing a fit. “Jesus, Lyric, I asked you to do  _ one thing! _ ” He then glanced at the table, looking around. “Where’s my croissant?” He asked me and a light bulb went off so hard in my head that it was visible on my face. 

“I completely forgot! I’m so sorry, sir! I can uh…. I can run to the snack machine and get you a Honey Bun or something.” I was rather serious about my answer but clearly he was not amused. He narrowed his eyes at me in annoyance and confusion.

“What the  _ hell is a Honey Bun? _ ” The look on his face was as if he’d just heard a really bad joke. As the words left his mouth, I hung my head. Sam scoffed aloud.

“Sorry, sir. It was a suggestion. But I can order you something small from a restaurant if you’d like.” I mumbled.

“That’s more like it. And when you speak, Lyric,  _ use volume. _ I can’t hear you for the life of me.” This was all a bit much for first thing in the morning. I could only imagine what got him so pissed off. He rubbed his hands over his face, blinking repeatedly as if he were trying to wake up still.

“Of course, sir.” I replied, pulling out my phone to have food delivered to the building.

“Honestly, Lyric. Your work performance has been going downhill the past two weeks.” He mumbled in irritation. He was right. Ever since Floral and Fading wrote a slew of new songs, we were playing more than just the usual weekend gigs. We’d done a rock festival just last week, several rehearsals on my days off and playing shows… I had been running on fumes for a while now. But I had a feeling that it would be worth it soon. I just had to keep it up a little longer.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Adler. I’ll clean up my act. I promise.” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed that he just chewed me out in front of Sam, who still sat with his legs crossed on the table. After a moment of silence, I could sense Sam’s need to break it.

“ _ Christ, _ Adler. How bougie can you be?” He said to him, fiddling with the skin on his fingers.

“Good morning to you, too, Samuel.” Rafe sighed, tiredly as he pulled a few things from his suitcase and sat them on the table. “I trust Lyric didn’t give you too much trouble.” He glanced at me for only a second before flipping through the papers he had gathered together. Sam looked at me and smirked. 

“Not at all. Your  _ darling  _ assistant has been nothing but helpful to me.” He said, giving me a thumbs up as he made a goofy face.

“That makes one of us.” He snipped, marking notes on a few pieces of paper. I rolled my eyes and looked to Sam, placing my hands behind my back. 

“I’ll be right back with your coffee.” I told him politely.

“Thank you, beautiful...” He smirked, admiring my ass as I turned on my heel. I grinned as I put a little extra sway in my hips to give a little show as I left.

  
  
  


**_Rafe’s POV_ **

I heard Sam wolf whistle as the door closed and I looked up at him a moment as he opened his folders. 

“She’s a good lookin’ girl, ay?” He nodded, smiling like a desperate dirty old dog. My eyes never left the paper.

“Who?” I asked, not really caring about the answer.

“ _ Lyric! _ ” He reiterated. My brows furrowed as I looked at him then back to my notes.

“Hmph… I never noticed.” It was true that I hadn’t really paid any attention to my assistant. But then again, I hadn’t paid many women much attention to begin with. Every now and then, if I wanted a good lay, I’d suck it up and socialize for a bit but other than that, I was focused on business. And treasure hunting. 

“Oh  _ bullshit _ , Rafe. You mean to tell me you got a girl like that workin’ for you and you never once took a look at how great her ass is?” He asked me. I shook my head as I continued to look over a few things.

“Not once.” I answered simply.

“ _ Why?! _ ” He exclaimed.

“Because looking at the rear ends of less than average women doesn’t make this company money.” I said. He flexed his lip and nodded. 

“Fair enough but I’d say she’s above average. Which you’d  _ know  _ if you took a second to actually look at her when you talk.” I knew exactly what he was getting at.

“I’m not going to sleep with my assistant, Samuel.” I groaned in annoyance.

“I’m not sayin’ you should (even though you should or I will). I’m sayin’ just  _ look at her _ . Having a beautiful woman like that workin’ for you, that’s a view to take the edge off!” He said. In an idiotic way, I sorta of understood what he meant. But I grunted and changed the subject.

“Where’s Nathan? He didn’t come to lunch yesterday.” I asked and he looked down, biting the skin off his lip.

“Listen, about my brother… I don’t think he’s comin’...” he told me. A bit of anger began to boil in me.

“He what?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“I called around and from everyone is tellin’ me… he’s out. He’s got a wife and all that. Nice job, nice house, the works. I don’t wanna pull him from that if I don’t have to.” He said. I shook my head in disbelief. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Nate’s out?” I asked.

“Nate’s out…” He mumbled in confirmation. I nodded, trying to accept the small change. I wasn’t happy about not having my full team but Samuel was  _ the _ expert on the subject of Henry Avery. We were in a search for his lost treasure. But first we needed to track down a clue. The same clue that got this man locked up in a Panamanian jail for what was almost life. The broken, hollow Saint Dismas cross we found 15 years ago had a second. This one was still intact. We just needed to get a hold of it. Whatever was in the other cross was definitely still inside this one. So I bought up all the land around the St. Dismas cathedral in Scotland and sent people to scavenge the area. The problem was that I kept running into all these dead ends. But I could feel it in my bones. We were going to find it no matter the cost.

After a few minutes, Lyric had returned with Samuel’s coffee in hand and she strutted over to sit in front of him. His hand graced over hers a moment as he gave her a smile and a wink. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He said to her before sipping on his drink. Then she turned to me.

“Mr. Adler, I ordered for you a French toast with fruit and a latte.” She told me and I waved her off.

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine….” I mumbled. Suddenly I thought about what Samuel told me. And I don’t know why but the words “look at her” kept ringing in my ears. So I looked up, only to be met with a lovely set of brown eyes. Her dark curls framed her face in the most flattering was; her lashes were long and her makeup was fresh, her lips were perfectly curved and plush. Even with the exhaustion played out on her face, she was still a rather beautiful woman. “Thank you… Ms. Lewis, that’ll be all for now…” I managed to say. She walked over to me and picked up the coffee she brought me and leaned over to clean up the mess I made. I may have caught a glimpse of cleavage as she did but I quickly averted my attention back to the papers and blueprints before me.

“If you need anything…” she glanced at Samuel and they exchanged a cheeky smirk before returning her eyes to me. “I’ll be at my desk. I’ve got a mountain of paperwork I need to get started on.” She said. “I will bring you your breakfast when it arrives, sir.” I nodded as my eyes ran over her features. When she smiled, a pair of dimples imprinted into the skin of her round cheeks. ‘ _ Cute. _ ’ I thought simply. Not really thinking much of it. When she turned to leave, I found myself staring after her, admiring her backside. I hated to admit it but Samuel was right. She had a pretty great ass. I sighed tiredly as he looked over at me, wiggling his thick brows at me with a cheesy grin.

“I saw that, Rafe.” He said as he turned in his seat to face me. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

“We have work to do.” I said, changing the subject immediately. Today was going to be a long one….


	4. Chapter 4

**_Rafe’s POV_ **

Things had been a bit different at work for the next two weeks. Since Samuel had met my assistant, he tended to come around more. Literally just to talk and disturb her from her duties. Almost always, I’d have to call him into my office or give her something to do. Send her on pointless errands. It was rather annoying. The way he’d lean over her desk and spill whatever horseshit he could think of. The way she gave him that dimpled smile back at him, completely under his spell. How he’d make her laugh and she would place a hand on his arm. It bothered me and I didn’t like it. I couldn’t exactly figure out why though. Ever since he put those words into my head, I tended to seek her out. When I was stressed at work, I found myself just looking at her and it would somehow put me at ease. Sometimes I’d be discreet about it, other times she’d catch me. And when she did, she’d ask if I was okay or if I needed something. I’d always tell her to worry about her work. However, the fact that she even cared enough to ask was nice. At night though, she would rush her work or skip things just so she could leave earlier. She never exactly told me what the hurry was but to be fair, I never questioned it. By the end of every night, I just really wanted to be alone. 

I had been visiting the punk club every day on the weekends now. I would start paperwork early or just give it up altogether in order to see Floral and Fading. One time, I even took my laptop and a couple of papers with me. And while everyone headbanged and moshed around me, I sipped on whiskey and sent out emails, drawing up forms. Eventually, I started to know a few songs. All the way down to the guitar solos. Every chug of the bass, every rhythm on the drums… And that lead singer. Her voice never faltered, it never cracked. It never failed her, not once. Every night she was looking more and more beautiful to me. If I wanted to sleep with anyone right now, it would be her. I could feel her passion in her music, I could hear the pain and stress in her voice as she sang. Every scream was like a form of release. I could sympathize. One night, I think I even attempted to talk to her after her set. But the band told me she left right after because she had to be at work early in the morning. I cut my losses and chalked it up to a “maybe another night.”

Tonight in particular, the office was rather quiet. Lyric had gotten herself a pair of earphones and had been keeping her wild music to herself. I was a bit disappointed. If I connected with her over anything, it was the music she played at the end of our long and tedious days. I was just getting used to it. But I was rather accustomed to the quiet. Either or was now fine by me. I completed my paperwork rather early for the day and decided to do a bit more research on the whereabouts of the second Saint Dismas cross. It was getting more and more stressful each time I came up with nothing. It was disheartening really. I sighed loudly and ran my fingers through my hair, resting my elbows on my knees with my hands clasped in front of my face.

I closed my eyes for a moment, just to hear the quiet buzz of the lamps around me when my ears honed in on something familiar. A singing voice. It almost sounded exactly like the girl from Floral and Fading. I opened my eyes to make sure I wasn’t imagining her being in my office in a state of hallucination. But there was no one. No one but Lyric, swaying side to side in her seat as she typed into her computer. She sang along to whatever it was that played in her ears. She didn’t even really think about it. She was just singing. She had a rather lovely voice. It was raspy and deep yet so soft in tone. I found myself staring in her direction as she sang until the song was over. A smile dared to pull on the corner of my lips but I got myself together immediately and went back to work.

Minutes later, she had come into my office with a completed manila folder and dropped it on my desk. I glanced up at her for a moment and back at my laptop screen. “All of it?” I asked cryptically. I could see her nod in my peripheral.

“All of it.” She replied in exhaustion.

“Thank you, Lyric. Anything on the agenda tomorrow?” I asked tiredly.

“You have a 2 o’clock with Mr. Ackles, a 4 o’clock with a Mrs. Starr, and then Mr. Drake is supposed to be here at 7.” She said to me. I looked up briefly to see her blushing a bit when she mentioned Samuel. My stomach turned.

“Uh huh….” was all I could say.

“Might I ask what you two are working on, sir?” She asked me coyly, placing her hands behind her back as I secretly admired her outfit of choice for the day. A sheer black long sleeved blouse with satin black trousers and red heels. Her makeup was done simply but she chose a bold red for her perfect lips. Her dark hair hung over her shoulders like black curtains as she adjusted it to her liking. I leaned back in my seat and hummed. She was quite trustworthy. So I decided to tell her.

“Are you familiar with the name Henry Avery?” I asked her. She might not have even been capable of talking about history of this caliber.

“Isn’t he like a pirate king?” She responded. ‘ _ Cute. _ ’ I thought with a gentle grin.

“Something like that.” I responded, standing up to walk to the front of my desk, crossing my arms and legs as I leaned on it. “Henry Avery was one of the greatest pirates known to man. He pulled one of the most impressive heists and never got caught. However…. nobody can seem to find his treasure.”

“But you and Sam will?” She asked, leaning her lanky limbs and curvy body into the doorway, leaning her head against the wall. She was almost like a picture. Too pretty to be real. I cleared my throat and held my head high.

“All gods willing, yes. I’d like to think that we will.” I responded confidently.

“So then what’s the hold up? You guys have been hackin’ away at this thing for like two weeks.” She said, suddenly dropping her formalities. For the time, I let it be.

“Yes we have. There is a clue as to where to go next. The Saint Dismas cross. Samuel and I found one in old prison ruins in Panama ages ago. But it was hollow and emptied already.” I said, opening up a file and pulling out a picture of the cross and handing it to her. She stared at it with a touch of confusion over her face. “Now we’ve been led to believe that there’s more out there than just the one. Problem is… we have no idea where to look…”

“So you’re stuck?” She asked, strutting towards me as she placed the picture back on my desk. I gave a nod in return and bit my lip. She stood next to me in silence for a moment before looking up at me. “Have you googled it?” She asked me simply. I scoffed.

“Of course, I googled it, Lyric. What do you take me for, an idiot?” I chuckled lightly. She made a face and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“I’m gonna keep my comment to myself because I need my job.” She smirked. For the first time in a while, I laughed. I began to just look at her as she pushed her dark locks behind her ear. “I don’t think you googled hard enough.” She said, slipping out of my office. I watched her grab her coat and things before looking at my one last time. “Goodnight, Mr. Adler. I hope you find what you’re lookin’ for.” And with that, I watched her walk away with such a swing of her hips that it was almost criminal. I nodded my head in acceptance. She was gorgeous. With that little nugget sitting in my thoughts, I decided to wrap it up and go to the dive bar again. It was the last night Floral and Fading would be playing this weekend and I wanted to be there for it. I dressed in a thin black sweater and black dress jeans with a nice pair of black boots for the day. I’d say I was already dressed for the occasion. Grabbing my jacket, I turned off my office lamps before heading out of the building.

I took a taxi to the club again like I had been doing all weekend. It was extra cold and the wind whipped against my cheeks harshly as I stepped out of the yellow car. I pulled my jacket close and shoved my hands in my pocket. As I walked towards the club, I noticed a woman stepping out of a beat up hatchback. I glanced a moment, my attention caught by her tight gold jeans and boots. And for a split second I could’ve sworn she looked like Lyric. I stopped in my tracks, leaning forward a little and straining my eyes for a better look. It  _ was _ her. But what was she doing here? I never saw her around. I watched as she closed the door to her car, adjusting her short denim shirt and bending over to apply a darker red lipstick in her side view mirror. She started off towards the back entrance but stopped in her tracks after scratching her head. I could hear her groan loudly, pulling on her hair until it came off. I furrowed my brows in confusion as I watched her walk back to toss the wig in her backseat. Then she pulled off the wig cap…. ‘ _ No that’s not…. She’s not… _ ’ I thought as several emotions battled it out for the spotlight. I knew that hair anywhere. Her wild blonde hair with rings and beads… I stared in shock as she disappeared from her car and into the club.

“No way…” I said to myself. Lyric… Lyric Lewis, my assistant…


	5. Chapter 5

**_Rafe’s POV_ **

‘ _ What in the hell… How could I have missed this?! _ ’ I thought, continuing to go inside. All along, I’d been falling in love with Lyric’s voice. All this time, I’d been lusting after her. ‘ _ Well this is certainly going to make the workroom a little awkward…. _ ’ I went to my usual corner and ordered gin and some fries. I waited eagerly for the band to start playing. When they finally came on, I stopped eating to stare at her in awe. This show was different from the others. It felt much more personal than before. Because I now knew why she rushed after paperwork sometimes. She had to be here. Suddenly, I felt a bit bad for giving her so much to do on the weekends. I poured a bit of gin in my glass and finished it in one gulp, already pouring myself another. 

The lights in the room dimmed and the audience went wild. I rose to my feet as soon as Lyric stepped onto the stage. Like every night, she looked incredible. Like every night, she sang her heart out. And like every night, the band received a standing ovation. I was thoroughly impressed. She had a talent. I couldn’t help but to look at her differently. She wasn’t just my assistant anymore; she was a star. When the performance ended, I watched as the band made their way to the bar. She didn’t leave off for once. Then again, she didn’t work in the morning (even though I was considering calling her into the office). I couldn’t decide if it was a bad idea to go talk to her just yet so I stayed in my corner as the club turned on Senses Fail. I drank a good bit until my nerves had numbed. Suddenly, it was a great idea for me to talk to her. So I stood up, fixed my hair, adjusted my shirt and made sure I was presentable and approachable. I didn’t want to scare her off…

I weaved my way between the tables until I ended up behind the band but something was said that made me stop in my tracks.

“Rafe can honestly be such a prick…” I heard her say. ‘ _ Woah… _ ’ I thought, crinkling my brows. I didn’t want her to see me yet and I wanted to hear more of what she had to say. I sat on a barstool at a high table behind them and just leaned back into my seat, listening in on the conversation between the band. “Like…. he just… these past two weeks were  _ horrible!  _ I mean, I was almost late every day last weekend. And this weekend I had to put some pages aside to finish in the mornings.” She exclaimed.

“He overworks the hell outta you, bro. I remember when you texted me about the lunch thing the other day.” Said one of her bandmates. I frowned. ‘ _ What lunch thing?! _ ’ I thought, racking my brain to remember such a time. I looked behind me a moment just as a guy with fuschia hair asked her the same question I wanted to ask.

“What happened?” He asked.

“So it’s literally getting close to my lunch break. I was just about to get off and he sent me to go get his lunch and it took  _ all _ of my lunch period to go get it and bring it back. I had nothing to eat all day except a cheese stick. Good shit.”

I nodded in a sort of shameful acceptance. I did do that. 

“Oh! And that meeting! He fucking yelled at me because his coffee was cold  _ when he was late! _ I showed up on time, dammit. Don’t get pissy with  _ me _ because  _ you  _ fucked up, y’know?” I listened to her continue to vent over drinks about several incidents that expanded into months ago; how she was one bad day away from quitting and how she was ready to risk being a broke musician. And that worried me. From the sound of it, I’d honestly been treating this girl terribly. Despite how I may have been acting towards her, Lyric was a reliable assistant and I did appreciate her. I was getting used to having her around the past 4 years. And it was disappointing to know that she’d been busting her ass for me this whole time and barely got to rest, write music, or even  _ breathe _ . I suddenly stood to grab my things and leave the club. This was her night off and I wanted her to enjoy it. So I ordered her and the band a bottle anonymously. I wouldn’t call her in in the morning; I wouldn’t send her work to do at home and I wouldn’t have her come into work earlier than scheduled. She deserved the break. And a chance to eat… no wonder she was so thin.

I walked home for a while. Thinking about what else I could’ve done to her. What I could’ve said to her. Suddenly, the fan boy in me kicked for a second. ‘ _ I’ve been treating my favorite vocalist like shit! _ ’ I thought. With that, I sighed. I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. 

  
  


**_Lyric’s POV_ **

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. When I looked at the clock it was  _ way _ past noon. I groaned and threw the covers off, rubbing my hands down my face. “Coffee…” I murmured as I stood to cross my small apartment. I rubbed my eyes and walked into the kitchen. Even though I was hungover to hell, there was so much I remembered. I just needed to put the pieces together again. I began to start a pot of coffee and lit a cigarette. I was in the stages of quitting. So far it was going well and I no longer needed it as badly. But some mornings, I just really needed one.

I sighed as nicotine filled my lungs and stared out the window as I waited for the coffee to brew. As I looked along the New York skyline, I began to reflect on my week; something I hadn’t had a chance to do in a  _ while _ . I faintly remembered a guy buying the band a bottle of really nice whiskey. I remembered looking back to thank him and only seeing the back of him as he left. Call me crazy but he looked a lot like my boss. But there was no way in hell Rafe would’ve gone to a trashy dive bar. It wasn’t his scene. ‘ _ Speaking of… _ ’ I thought, grabbing my laptop from the plush blue velvet couch. I don’t know why it stuck but I began to remember Rafe’s struggle with finding that cross. I figured maybe I could do a little digging before the day was out. Just then, the coffee maker did that sputtering noise it tended to make as if emptied the contents into the pot. ‘ _ But first… coffee. _ ’ I gave a long sigh and made myself a cup. I milked it barely and sugared it asmuch as possible without killing myself before curling up on the couch and beginning my research.

Hours had gone by. Rafe hadn’t called nor texted me all day which was very unusual for him. He would almost always call me in for some bullshit I could do at home. Or have me run and grab a spare suit from the dry cleaners… Not that I minded being unbothered for the day. I found some time to play my guitar and write a little music. And I was able to finish a song I’d been working on. After that, I continued to search for the Saint Dismas cross. And just like that… ‘ _ Gotcha. _ ’ I thought as my eyes widened in excitement. I found a link with a picture of the cross to it. Apparently, it was going up for an auction in the next week in Italy. I let out a laugh and sat back on my couch. “Well holy shit.” I couldn’t wait to see his reaction when I showed him this.

  
  


**_Rafe’s POV_ **

I sighed heavily, rubbing my hands over my face. As I leaned into my chair, I stared at Lyric’s desk through the open doorway. I was beginning to get anxious. This woman that I’d found myself fawning over for a month was working right under my nose and I barely even knew it. ‘ _ Should I tell her that I know? _ ’ I thought as my leg bounced quickly. ‘ _ What do I say to her? Should I apologize? _ ’ Suddenly, a knock tore me from my thoughts. When I looked up, that talented woman stood before me with a thin folder in her hands. My heart skipped as I let my eyes run over her hips in her leather pencil skirt. I straightened my posture but my stale expression never faltered.

“Good morning, Ms. Lewis.” I said in my everyday tired tone. 

“Mr. Adler!” She smiled widely and pushed a curl behind her ear, revealing a single golden braid. I tried to conceal my laughter. The poor girl must’ve missed one when she changed her hair this morning. But I wouldn’t tell her. I’d let her figure it out. She then turned around and closed my office door behind her. ‘ _ What is she doing? _ ’ I looked at her with furrowed brows and she sat the folder on my desk before me. She gestured to it excitedly and crossed her arms over her fuzzy green sweater. 

“What the hell is this?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Open it and find out!” She sang, pursing her lips to suppress a smirk. I scooted towards my desk in my chair, eyeing her suspiciously as I opened up the folder. Before me was a few pages printed from an auction site in Italy. Heading it was a large picture of the cross I’d been so desperately looking for. ‘ _ You’ve got my attention…. _ ’ I thought as I leaned forward, straining my eyes to read the fine print. It would be going up for bidding at their next event at the Rossi Estate. It was next week. I let out an amused chuckle. I was impressed. Very impressed. I looked up at her with an approving expression and leaned back in my seat, tapping on the papers before me.

“Where did you…. How? Sam and I have been searching for weeks and—”

“I told you! You didn’t google hard enough.” She said in a sultry voice as she leaned onto my desk. I forced a laugh as I found myself mesmerized by her brown eyes. ‘ _ When did she find the time to…. _ ’ I thought, shaking my head as I stood to lean on my desk as well. We both stared at each other a moment from across the desk.

“This is good work, Lyric. Thank you. Honestly, I…. ha ha! We’re one step closer to finding Avery’s treasure because of you.” I praised her. Something I never did. Though I was beginning to think that I should have… At the sight of her relieved smile, an idea came across my head. I admired her figure and began to wonder how well she cleaned up… “Come with me.” The words left my mouth before I could even really think about it. The smile on her face disappeared as her brows raised and her eyes widened.

“What?” She said in confusion.

“ _ Come with me. _ ” I reiterated, slowly. “I’d like for you to accompany me as my date.”

“Oh!” She exclaimed as a slight blush tinted her cheeks. I smiled gently at how adorable she’d become. “Why me?”

“Well you found it’s whereabouts, you deserve to see it through.” I shrugged.

“You want me to come with you to  _ Italy? _ ” She was still in shock; which was fair. Considering my treatment of her lately, this was a massive jump.

“Why not? You can keep me company. It would be nice to have a familiar face around.” For the first time to her face, I think I smiled at her. Not a fake business smile that I put on for these corporate jackasses but a genuine pleasant smile. She looked at me as if she’d just seen an alien.

“May I ask why you’re being so….”

“Cryptic?”

“ _ Nice…. _ You haven’t yelled at me this morning, ordered me around… you didn’t even bother me yesterday! Is everything okay?” She asked me and I burst into laughter.

“I guess I have been a bit uptight lately, huh?” I said rounding the desk to sit on it next to her. A very informal thing I found myself doing with her around. She didn’t move from her position, she just looked at me in surprise and bit her lush lips. “So how about it?” I asked again.

“Um… I don’t really have the cash to get to Italy.” She told me awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take my jet—”

“ _ The company jet?! _ I’ve only ever seen it from the outside!” The excitement in her voice was enough to make me chuckle a little.

“Well now you can actually fly in it.” I said. It’s a shame the things I hadn’t done with her, especially with her being my assistant and all. “And I’ll have a dress picked out for you—”

“No, no. Nothin’ good ever comes from someone else picking my clothes for me. I’ve got a dress.”

“Are you sure? Not something you wear to the club on the weekends, Lyric- this is a  _ black tie event _ .”

“I’m aware. I have formal dresses. I’ll wear the one I wore at the company dinner last year.”

“I don’t remember that one.” I chuckled, trying to remember what it looked like.

“You barely looked at me.” She said plainly and I frowned a little. I really had been shitty to her.

“Well things are changing. Have your passport ready and your bags packed. Make whatever arrangements you need and by the end of the workday next Thursday,  _ we _ … will be on our way to Rome.” I said, rounding my desk to gather up all the papers and putting them back into the folder. She stood up, straightening her back like a soldier. Clearly she was taken aback by my sudden demands. Demands that had nothing to do with a fat folder of paperwork or my Starbucks order.

“It’s a date!” She smiled before it awkwardly fell. “I mean…. I’ll be ready, sir.” I smiled to myself and opened my laptop to start my work for the day. I still had to play boss. Just for a while.

“That’ll be all, Ms. Lewis. Thank you.” I said briefly. 

“Okay…” She said turning to leave but then she turned on her heel as if she’d forgotten something. I looked up at her as she began to speak. “Oh! You have a 2 o’clock with Mr. Ackles again.” She told me. I groaned tiredly. I hated meetings. They were tedious and boring and quite frankly a waste of time. Also I wasn’t dressed to meet anybody today. A thin grey sweater and slacks wasn’t appropriate for meeting with that asshat. With a long sigh, I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Alright… um… I need you to do me a favor then. Could you please grab my dry cleaning for me? I’m sure there’s a suit there getting cleaned now. Just bring it to the office and hang it on my coat rack?” I asked her. She blinked at me a couple times in silence and I looked about awkwardly. “Is something the matter, Ms. Lewis?”

“You…. you said please- never mind. Yes, sir. I’ll grab it for you.” She said as she turned to leave again.

“Thank you, Lyric.” I called on her way out. I smirked as the door closed and looked over at the folder she’d brought me. “Goddamn Saint Dismas…” I mumbled, suddenly remembering that I needed to inform Samuel. “He’s going to love this…” With that, I picked up the phone and dialed his number.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: smut 💕

**_Lyric’s POV_ **

  
  


The next week at work was… strange to say the least. First of all, I’d never been so well rested. Second, I had gotten a call from the dive bar that some fancy guy came in and bought all the Floral and Fading tee shirts. _All of them._ _‘Who needs 150 band tees? That are the same…._ ’ I thought. I tried not to think much of it but we made a lot of money from it. Enough to get groceries and laundry done _and_ enough to splurge on getting my nails done for Italy (which I still couldn’t believe I was even going!). The third reason, which was the strangest of them all, was Rafe. He was acting weird. And by weird, I mean he’d been smiling more and saying his morning greetings pleasantly. Instead of yelling bloody murder when he asked things of me, he’d temporarily step out of his office to _physically_ look at me and pose his questions. And he’d say things like “please” or “would you mind”.... I was almost convinced he’d been abducted by aliens and replaced with a clone. He would let me go home early, he would extend my lunch breaks, and he even invited me to join him at lunch. On more than one occasion. To which I immediately but politely declined. It was too much too soon. It felt like a trap. 

By the time Thursday rolled around, I had everything packed to go. The air in the office was as normal as always. Everyone was tired and complained about how shitty their morning was. Everyone but my coworker Winter who was solely interested in Rafe and I’s upcoming trip to Italy. But for all the wrong reasons…

“I just think he might have a little crush on you is all.” She said, scribbling in her journal and typing up something in her computer. I snorted rather loudly as I sipped on my coffee.

“ _ That’s  _ bullshit if I ever heard it—”

“Just hear me out!” She exclaimed, low enough for only the two of us to hear. She stood from her desk and scuttled over to sit on the edge of mine. I leaned back into my seat, legs crossed and lips pursed to keep myself from bursting into laughter.

“Please. I would  _ love _ to hear your reasoning.” I said, awaiting her answer as if I was waiting for the punchline of a joke to kick in. She pushed her blonde hair behind her ears and leaned towards me.

“First of all, it’s really  _ not _ that far off. He relies on you to get shit done around here. If you weren’t here, he’d be a wreck, this office would be a mess, and half of us would lose our jobs.  _ Two! _ You haven’t even seen how he’s been looking at you lately—”

“He doesn’t see me—” I interrupted briefly, tugging on the collar of my light pink turtleneck and sipping my coffee.

“Bullshit. The other day when you two were in a meeting, you got up to do something for Mr. Ackles and I looked up for a split second, glanced in the conference room…. I swear to God, he could  _ not _ stop staring at you. I mean  _ everywhere _ you moved in the room, his eyes were on you.” She said to me. I crinkled my brows and opened my mouth to refute but truthfully I didn’t know what to say. 

“I’m his assistant! He’s probably making sure that I don’t fuck up—” She made a face for me to shut up. So I tilted my head as she continued.

“And let's be real about this: we  _ can not  _ act like he’s not the most attractive man in the building.” She winked at me, looking around to make sure he wasn’t around. She wasn’t wrong. Rafe was very attractive. I just never stared long enough to be under his thrall. And I never would. He was much too uptight for me. “Ricki, look. You’re 32. You’re not gonna get any younger. And that punk act you’ve got going on isn't gonna last forever.” I scoffed, trying my best not to be offended. I put blood, sweat, tears, money,  _ and sleep loss _ into my musical career.

“ _ Wow _ …” I laughed, blinking at her a bit.

“Not saying that you won’t make it but… isn’t that type of music generally for the  _ younger _ crowd?” She asked me. She wasn’t really helping herself.

“Keep on callin’ me old, Winter….” I warned her in a half joking tone.

“I just think that if it turns out that he really does like you, you’d be  _ stupid _ to not at least  _ try it out _ —”

“ _ Okay,  _ you know what? I don’t care how he looks at me. The man dramatically spits out coffee if it’s not the right temperature. Why do I need that kinda stress in my life?”

“Because he’s rich.”

“I don’t care about that. He’s a shitty person.” I said simply, ending the conversation as I grabbed a file from behind her and opened it to read. She gave a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms, looking at me in disappointment. I glanced up from the file and she was still standing there. “Was that all?” I asked in a slightly bitchy tone. She shook her head.

“You’re unbelievable.” She said, smacking the back of my head playfully and sitting at her desk.

“Unbelievably  _ SICK! _ ” I retorted, flipping her off momentarily and she chuckled. Just then, Rafe came stalking into the office. 

“Good morning, Mr. Adler!” Winter greeted, like the kiss ass she tended to be. But he ignored her.

“Ms. Lewis, could you meet me in my office please?” He asked as he quickly walked by.

“Yes s-” Before I could even finish my answer, his door slammed shut. I blinked, unsure of what to even think. He was happy all week… ‘ _ I hope he’s still happy… _ ’ I thought as I stood. Winter and I exchanged glances and I entered his office. He was scarily quiet, his hands gripping onto the edge of his desk until his knuckles were white. His briefcase laid sprawled out on the floor; I assumed he tossed at the couch and it didn’t make it. I carefully closed the door behind me and walked towards his desk. Once again, I couldn’t help but ask. I rested my hands on one of the seats in front of his desk and crossed my ankles, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“Are you okay?” I asked. He gave a deep sigh before curling his fingers into fists and punched the desk for a second. I jumped at the sudden noise as he sat down.

“No, Lyric. I’m not okay.  _ I was _ but not anymore.” He answered through gritted teeth.

“What happened?” I sat down in the seat I was leaning on, smoothing out my skirt as he paced behind his desk. He began with a huff, already seeming more irritable the more he dwelled on it. 

“Tell me… have you been keeping up with Samuel by any chance?”He asked as calmly as possible. I gave a nervous chuckle.

“What- do you think we keep tabs on each other like teenagers?” I answered. Truthfully, I hadn’t seen him in a very long time. I was almost disappointed.  _ Almost _ . Rafe’s cheeks seemed to turn a faint pink for a moment as his poker face faltered a bit.

“No, no- I just…. I figured since you two were so close in the office that maybe you kept in touch...” he replied in a boyish tone.

“Are you jealous?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit clearly he wasn’t feeling it.

“Lyric,  _ please _ … This is serious.” His tired green eyes locked with mine and I could immediately see that whatever the problem was was truly stressing him out. So I gave him a break.

“No. I haven’t heard from him.” I told him. He hummed at my answer and scratched at the stubble that attempted to appear on his chin. “Rafe, what’s going on?” I asked, beginning to feel concerned. He seemed to be doing a few breathing exercises before he answered.

“It seems that some of my research has gone missing.” He said, holding onto the back of his seat for dear life.

“And you think Sam took it?” I asked.

“Well he is a thief, after all… I wouldn’t put it past him.” he grumbled, putting his head in his hands. My eyes widened.

“No shit.”

“Yes shit. He didn’t just  _ magically  _ come out of thin air. I…” he paused to carefully choose his words. “I bailed him out.”

“ _ Oh. _ Shit….How long was he in for?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it.

“14 years…” he replied, running his fingers through his hair.

“ _ For stealing?!  _ What did he steal?! The Hope Diamond?!”

“Oh no he uh…. he killed a guard on the inside.” He mumbled.

“HE WHA- he what?!” I snapped.

“Yeah. Congratulations. You were flirting with a murderer.” He said in a sassy tone. I chuckled and denied it.

“No… I wasn’t... _ flirting _ -”

“You were just being friendly?” He said. I smirked at him.

“Oh piss off!” I said, playfully hitting his forearm. I half expected him to look at me like I was crazy but he just smiled small and huffed in frustration, resting his forehead on his desk.

“Ugh this is the fucking worst…” he said. “I bet he’s on his way to Italy for that cross now.”

“Okay cool- but it’s an auction. Last I checked he was broke as hell and the security will be so tight…. So don’t worry about it, okay?” I said, calmly. He searched my eyes for a moment and nodded. His shoulders dropped and he seemed a bit more at ease. I put a comforting hand over his and ran my thumb over his knuckles. “It’ll be fine. We are going to go to Italy, sip some wine, eat some pizza, and get all dressed up for this auction. And you’re going to walk out of the estate with this cross. I’m manifesting it. I am putting it into the ether.” I said as positively as possible. His eyes never left mine and his grip had tightened a little in my hand. 

“Of all the fine cuisine that Rome has to offer, you still want...  _ pizza? _ ” He chuckled in amusement.

“Of course! I want  _ real _ Italian pizza, okay? With melted mozzarella and fresh tomato sauce and all the seasonings! Not one from down the street...or a frozen box.” I said and the look he gave me shocked me. His eyes seemed to trace over every feature of my face and his cheeks faintly blushed again. For a second I began to wonder if this is what Winter saw. This look that he was giving me right now. That shy look of longing. He smiled and retrieved his briefcase, sitting it on his desk as he avoided my gaze.

“Very well. I’m sure there’s a decent pizzeria around.” He said, taking a seat.

“Yes!” I exclaimed as I stood to leave. “So remember! Don’t worry. You’ve got this  _ all _ under control.” I said, backing out of the office. And with that, I went back to my own desk. I sat down with a sigh. I couldn’t shake the look he’d given me. I suddenly hated Winter for making me notice it. Something about him was no doubt changing and I was interested to see what. I sipped on my coffee and continued to work until the day was out.

  
  


_ Finally _ , it was time to go. I pulled my suitcase from under my desk and dragged it to sit next to me. The office had gone home for the day and my last order of business was to leave Winter instructions on what to do in our absence. I was literally  _ shaking _ with excitement. I’d never been anywhere outside the country before. I couldn’t wait for a bit of warm weather. I was freezing my ass off here. Rafe seemed to keep his cool since I talked to him last and to be completely honest, I was glad about it. The last thing we needed was his temper on a whole 9 hour flight. After a while, he appeared from his office and closed his door behind him with a tired smile.

“You ready?” He asked me. I shot up from my seat and threw on my trench coat, making sure I had everything together.

“Absolutely!” I grinned.

“Allow me.” He said, lifting the handle of my suitcase and dragging it along behind him. I was surprised at him. I always knew he was a gentleman but I’d never been on the receiving end of it before.

We walked to the elevator that took us to the rooftop and waiting for us, on and ready, was the big white company plane. I stopped for a second as I watched Rafe board the plane to just appreciate the experience I was about to have. “Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there?!” I suddenly heard Rafe shout to me above the deafening engines, tearing me from my thoughts. I nodded and ran towards the plane, trying not to twist my ankles in the tall heels on my feet. He stretched out a hand to me and helped me up the small flight of stairs. We were greeted by the pilot and a stewardess and shown to what was pretty much a lounge on this plane. The interior of it all was absolutely gorgeous. There were lavish beige recliner seats and a couch to match. Portable desks were made cherry oak with golden cup holders and the carpets were a deep wine red with gold accents. Red curtains covered the windows and there were even decorative pillows and blankets— everything was made to match. When I sat down, the stewardess came in and immediately began asking us if we wanted food or drinks… or alcoholic beverages.

“We’ll take dinner here.” Rafe answered before I could even open my mouth. “I’m sure you’re starving by now, right?”

“Uh… yeah.” I whispered, shedding my jacket and sitting on the couch. 

“What do you want?”

“What would you recommend?” I asked, truly unsure of what I wanted.

“Jack back there makes this roasted garlic chicken with vegetables that’s just…  _ magic. _ ” He chef’s kissed the air and I widened my eyes with a giggle, sitting back in my seat. I’d never seen Rafe so expressive. 

“Well then I’ll have that!” I smiled. I watched him grin as he began loosening his tie, undoing a few buttons and rolling up the sleeves of his collared shirt, putting in an order for a seasoned fish and potatoes.

“Very good, sir. May I get the two of you started on drinks?”the stewardess asked.

“Chateau Margaux Red, in a chilled glass please.” He answered, opening and reaching into his briefcase to pull out a few folders and a pen. Then she turned to me.

“And for you, miss?” She asked with a kind smile.

“Um…. whiskey?” I answered vaguely.

“Is there a brand you prefer?”

“Um….. no. I usually just order whiskey and I get... whiskey.” I giggled nervously, scratching my head. In the corner of my eye, I could see Rafe smile a little, his shoulders bouncing from a light chuckle.

“Get her a glass of Glenfiddich.”He said and the two nodded at each other in agreement.

“ _ Two glasses… _ . maybe three.” I corrected him and he laughed again.

“Yes,ma’am. I’ll be back shortly. We should be in the air in about 10 minutes.” She told us as she gave me a smile. I returned it and sat back on the couch, my fingers tapping on the arm. I was nervous about flying, I’d never flown before. But I couldn’t let him know that.

“You okay?” He asked suddenly.

“Yeah…. just… really want a cigarette…”

“Hmph. I didn’t know you smoked.” He said casually.

“Uh yeah…. I’m tryin’ to quit.” I mumbled.

“Well good. That shit does fuck all for your lungs anyway.” He said and I nodded with a smile. He just kept on surprising me. Ever since we left the office, it was like he’d become a different person. I’d never heard him swear so much leisurely. “So um, I still have a bit of work to do before we touchdown in Italy. I’m gonna have my earpiece in so—”

“Of course! I can be quiet.” I chimed. He just chuckled.

“ _ After  _ dinner, Lyric.” He smiled.

“I knew that.” I mumbled in embarrassment.

  
  


Just as the stewardess said, we were in the air in no time and starting our flight to Rome. We held a light conversation over dinner, sort of like an ice breaker. Contrary to what I originally thought, he was actually kind of funny. Or “punny” rather. We talked about work, people in the office, how he couldn’t stand his meetings with certain people and we had a list of them that we both agreed were the absolute worst people; for similar reasons too. Afterwards, he delved into his work and I curled up on the couch, playing a few games on my phone as I listened to music, continuously drinking glasses of whiskey until I couldn’t feel my face. I couldn’t help but take a few glances at him as he worked though. The veins in his forearms that bulged as he scribbled on papers and the sharp angle of his jaw as he threw his head back when he was exhausted or frustrated was hypnotizing to say the least. The muscles in his chest making themselves present beneath his collared shirt and vest, the few strands of hair that tended to fall out of place by the end of the workday, his striking green eyes… ‘ _ Stop it, Ricki. It’s Rafe. It’s your boss. You shouldn’t look at him that way…. Why are you even looking at him that way?! _ ’ I thought suddenly. I scoffed and turned my phone off to close my eyes; maybe I could get a nap in somewhere on this flight. Before I knew it, the warmth of the food in my stomach, the low vibrations of the plane, and the comfort of the couch paired with the multiple drinks I had seemed to be enough to send me to sleep. Then I began dreaming…

_ I was in the office. It was after hours by the looks of things. When I turned in my seat, the workroom was empty, all the desk lamps were on and I was the only one there. Looking down, I was dressed in a simple white collared shirt and a pencil skirt that seemed to be a tad shorter and tighter than normal. But it didn’t phase me one bit. Hard rock music played off of my speaker rather loudly and there was an unfinished email typed up on the computer before me. I sighed and turned around to continue working when I heard Rafe’s voice calling me. “Ms. Lewis, I need your assistance please!” He yelled. Like always, I groaned loudly and went stomping towards his office. When I walked in, he was sitting behind his desk with his legs kicked up on the edge. His hair was disheveled as I secretly realized I liked, the buttons on his vest undone and his tie loosened, the cuffs of his sleeves rolled off of his wrists displaying a fancy watch. I leaned into the doorway and placed a hand on my hip with a touch of attitude. _

_ “What do you want, Rafe?” I asked, completely out of character. If I ever answered him like that for real, I would probably be fired. But instead of yelling, he just let his eyes run over my body, biting his lip with intrigue. I cocked my brow and crossed my arms, tapping my foot impatiently as a devious smile flashed across his face. My heart skipped a beat as he took his feet off the desk and turned his attention to his computer. _

_ “I’m having a bit of trouble getting this PDF to open. Would you mind…?” He asked me. I blinked at him a moment and sighed. _

_ “Yeah. Seeing as I have to do everything else for you.” I replied in annoyance. I started over to his desk and he moved out of the way. Not necessarily standing up, more like just rolled his chair away from the computer. I leaned over as he rested his head in his hand on the desk, so obviously gawking at me as I typed away. Suddenly, he reached out and pushed a lock of hair over my ear, his finger stroking my jaw and his hand running over my shoulder then down my back. His touch caused a stir in me and I let out a shaky sigh but I continued to work. The file wouldn’t open. It didn’t make any sense. I did what I would’ve done on my own computer. I opted to try again. _

_ “What is it that Samuel has that I don’t?” He asked me suddenly, his hand rubbing circles at the small of my back. I was taken aback and snapped my head to stare at him. The look on his eyes was something hungry and needy; like he was trying to hold back from doing something. _

_ “I… um—” _

_ “What can he give you… that I can’t?” He asked, his hand slipping past my hips and over the rounds of my ass. My heart began to race as his fingers traced down the back of my leg. I almost went weak when he graced over the sensitive spot just above the back of my knee. His touch was so electrifying that I could barely think. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched my reactions carefully.  _

_ “He… I don’t—” _

_ “You don’t even know do you?” He seemed to smirk as his fingers ghosted over my inner thigh, slipping by the split in my skirt a bit. He gripped onto my thigh tightly and as he stood, his fingers brushed over my clothed clit. “Do you even want him? Hm?” He breathed into my ear, pulling my hair off of my neck and letting his nose trace my jawline. I had forgotten what I was even doing in his office to begin with since he started touching me. I took a slow and deep breath as his cold lips pressed against the warm skin of my neck. I closed my eyes with a shiver as he began massaging my through my panties. “Answer me, Lyric.” He demanded, slapping my ass rather harshly. I gasped from the contact and my hands began to shake in excitement. _

_ “Rafe, I—” _

_ “ _ **_Mr._ ** _ Adler…” he corrected me. _

_ “Mr. Adler, I don’t know what you mean…” I sighed. _

_ “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The way you look at him… Why don’t you look at me that way, huh?” He asked, lifting my skirt as he stood behind me, running his hands over my ass gently. “Do you have any idea what you do to me, Ms. Lewis?” He groaned as he pressed himself against me, his hands now firm on my hips as he pulled me close to feel his growing hard-on. As he ran his hand up my spine, I felt my back arch for him. He continued to spank me until my cheeks turned red and the cool touch of his fingertips eased the pain. His fingers hooked around the hem of my panties and yanked them down my legs. He used his foot to kick my legs apart and carefully scooped up and handful of my hair, pulling on it a bit. He ran a chilling finger up my slick cunt and licked his fingers for a taste. He moaned in my ear as I let out shallow breaths.  _

_ “Just as I thought. You taste delicious…” He said and he continued to stroke my wetness until I was all worked up and began to finger me roughly. I was left groaning in need. _

_ “Mr. Adler… please…” I whimpered, his fingers diving in and out of me. _

_ “What’s that, sweetheart?” He asked in a deep alluring tone. _

_ “Please fuck me—” _

_ “Please fuck me, who?” _

_ “Mr. Adler! Please fuck me, please!” I cried out. With a frustrated grunt, he pushed everything off of his desk, not caring about the mess and laid me down. He undid my blouse and cupped my breasts, leaving sloppy kisses all over my chest and he undid his belt. I didn’t see it but  _ **_boy_ ** _ could I feel it as he entered me. He sucked on my nipples a while as I got used to his size and his hand travelled up to my neck, squeezing lightly as he began to move. He kept it slow, drawing out the feeling of my clit dragging along his length. I couldn’t keep myself from whining as he rolled into me.  _

_ “Fuck me harder.” I said suddenly. “Please fuck me harder, Mr. Adler.” I moaned, staring him right in the eyes. He gave an almost evil chuckle as he removed his tie from his neck and wrapped it around my wrists tightly, pushing my arms above my head. He hiked up my legs to wrap them around his waist and he began to drive into me. He hovered over me, staring into my eyes with so much lust and want as I squealed and moaned beneath him. He alternated between slow and fast paced, ramming into me until I felt myself beginning to come undone. _

_ “Keep it up and you’re going to make me cum, Lyric.” He growled through his teeth, resting his forehead against mine with a satisfied lightly dimpled smile. And it was a damn gorgeous one at that. _

_ “Cum in me. I want you to…” I shuddered. He laughed tiredly, cupping my cheeks with his surprisingly soft hands and kissing me deeply. _

_ “Whatever you want…” He said darkly, his hand dragging from my cheek to my neck again. And this time he used both hands to choke me gently. He snapped his hips into me repeatedly, tears beginning to well in my eyes as I started to see stars. _

_ “I’m gonna… I—” Just as I was about to release— _

I felt a hand run down my shoulder, gently shaking me awake. When I opened my eyes, I was met with those striking greens and I gasped in embarrassment, moving away. Rafe has woken me up, sitting on the edge of the couch with a tired smile. 

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you.” He said kindly as I sat up, a thick fabric falling off of my shoulders. He’d covered me with his jacket. My heart raced under his touch and I could feel my face burning as I looked into his eyes. “We’re about to land. I figured maybe you’d want to see the sky view.” He told me, pointing to the window behind my head. I turned my head to see a beautiful sunrise over what looked to be the Colosseum. I gasped and rose to my knees like a child to get a better look. All of the beautifully sculpted buildings and the bluest waters…

“This is amazing…” I said unknowingly.

“Wait until we actually get into the city.” He said in a soft tone of wonder similar to mine. I looked over at him and we shared a smile. This weekend was going to be an adventure for sure...

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**_Rafe’s POV_ **

“No.” I said firmly.

“And why not?” I was on a call with Nadine Ross. Since Samuel evidently had decided to take matters into his own hands and steal from me, I had to do a bit of damage control. I enlisted the help of Shoreline, a group of mercenaries for hire. Nadine was the leader and was currently fighting me to bring her men to the auction. But to me, that was unnecessary. I didn’t need a bunch of goons walking around a high class area flashing their guns at every suspicious person. The whole room was going to be full of suspicious people.

“Because I’m the one writing your checks. What I say goes. It’s either just you or nobody at all.” I was trying my best not to yell. When I looked up from my maps and books, I noticed Lyric passed out on the couch across from me, her hair hanging in her face and snoring a little. I smiled to myself and stood to grab my jacket.

“Rafe, what if—”

“‘What if’ nothing. I have it under control. Security will be tight enough and if anything goes wrong, they’ll handle it.” I said to her as I placed my jacket over Lyric’s thin frame, gently moving her hair from her face. Her thick lashes fluttered on her cheekbones as she groaned and turned in her sleep.

“Fuck…” she said rather clearly, scratching her head and pulling my jacket closer to her face. I smirked as I went back to my seat, wondering what she could possibly be dreaming about. I could hear Nadine arguing about whatever in my ear as I leaned back into my seat, just watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful. Like she needed the rest. Like she needed this trip. I hated to admit it but I needed it too. Things at work had been so stressful. Two or three days in Italy with someone who didn’t entirely piss me off seemed like a good way to wind down.

“No muscle at the auction, Ms. Ross, and that’s final. I’ll hear no more about it.” I eventually said, tired of the nagging in my ear. “I will see you at the auction.”

“Alright…” she answered defeatedly. And with that, she’d hung up. 

I pulled the ear piece out and tossed it into my briefcase. I’d been working since we finished dinner and it was time I took a break. I organized my desk, putting my files and maps into a neat pile and sipped on my wine that I happened to forget about. The glass was no longer chilled but I didn’t care. It was a little something to relax. After a few sips, I reclined the seat, crossing my fingers and resting them in my lap as I threw my head back. I closed my eyes hoping that maybe I’d fall asleep. I was on the brink of drifting away when I heard a sigh. I opened my eyes just enough to see through my eyelashes. Lyric was moaning and whining in her sleep. Not the disturbed kind of noise though. More like arousal. For about ten minutes she went on like this, just shifting in her seat. I bit my lip as I listened to her sweet voice crying out softly in need. Now I  _ definitely  _ wanted to know what she was dreaming about. A high pitched soft moan and sharp gasp passed from her lips, causing my heart to skip and a twitch in my pants. It was absolutely inappropriate to think about but as my eyes wandered over her face, they landed on her lips. I wanted to kiss them. They looked so soft and warm and smooth. I could feel my face frowning, upset that I wasn’t the one making her sound this way. After a while, she quieted down but my thoughts did not. I wanted to dig my fingers into her wild blonde tresses, have her long long legs wrapped around my waist. I wanted her. The real her. Not the one she shows me at work. Even though I realized at that point that I barely knew who she was to begin with. I could only hope that would change throughout the weekend.

Eventually I found myself falling asleep. Not for long though. The stewardess ended up coming to wake me 15 minutes before we landed. When I opened my eyes, she gave me a kind smile. I looked out of the window next to me, blinking myself awake rather slowly as I admired the sunrise and the aerial view of Rome. In my opinion, it wasn’t such a bad thing to wake up to. I yawned and sat up in my seat, stretching my back, cracking my neck. She patted my shoulder in a motherly fashion and disappeared into the back of the plane again. I stood up, brushing the random strands of hair off of my face and sat on the couch next to my sleeping assistant. I yawned again, running my hand down her shoulder, shaking her awake gently as I whispered her name. Her eyes fluttered open and immediately her face turned a bright red. She jumped a little, startled by seeing me and I held my hands up in defense.

“It’s just me!” I said softly with a smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She blinked at me a couple times as she sat up, my jacket falling off of her as she did. “We’re about to land and I, uh…. figured you might wanna see the sky view.” I told her, raising the blind that covered the small window near her head, pointing at the view. She turned around and the look on her face was priceless. She brought her fingers to her lips, concealing the wide grin that spread across her lips and gasped in wonder. The sunlight seemed to make her eyes shine a bit brighter than normal and I tore my gaze away to enjoy the view with her. It was a fantastic sight.

“This is amazing…” she said in awe.

“Wait til we actually get into the city.” I said, standing as I began to gather up my things to put them into my briefcase. She scooted to the edge of her seat and threw her arms in the air, stretching out her long limbs and I tried my damnedest not to look. She picked up her heels and put them back on her feet before leaning into the couch. I could feel her eyes on me as I got my things together. I looked up with a chuckle as her eyes narrowed.

“Did you finish what you needed to do?” She asked me.

“Uh… yeah.” I lied all too easily, sitting back in my recliner. The way she twirled a lock of hair around her finger told me that she didn’t believe a word.

“And did you get any sleep?” She asked. I forced a puff of air and ran my hand down my face tiredly.

“Actually, yes. More sleep than I would at home if you can believe it.”

“I don’t but okay.” She smirked. That time I was actually telling the truth. Normally I’d get maybe 2 or 3 hours in before I had to go to work. This time I got maybe 5. I could really feel the difference. If it were up to me though, I wouldn’t have gotten up at all. “You’re taking another nap before we go anywhere.” She told me boldly. I laughed. At least she cared enough.

“I think you missed the part where I’m  _ your _ boss and I tell  _ you  _ what to do.” I said. But like a nagging wife, she was right. I could’ve used an hour or two more. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll both take some time to wind down before lunch.”

“What are we having?!” She damn near jumped out of her seat.

“I’m feeling like pasta.” I hummed. “With an excessive amount of Parmesan.”

  
  


When we landed at the hangar, we were greeted by a shiny black car, ready to take us to where we’d be staying. I booked a villa for us instead of a hotel. I figured it’d be quieter and not to mention there was a killer view from every balcony and patio. It was a nice 75 degrees out that morning. The wind pushed against us as we descended the stairs. The driver greeted us with a smile and opened the door for us before retrieving our bags. Lyric slid into the car and rubbed her eyes before groaning loudly.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I forgot I had makeup on… I probably look a mess now.” She grumbled.

“I don’t think so. You look good.” I told her truthfully. She stared at me as a blush tinted her cheeks.

“Thank you?” She wasn’t sure what to make of that. The fault being my own, I didn’t compliment her much. That was something that could change. The car began to drive us through the city and into the country just on the outskirts. A massive change from the big city buildings turning into rolling hills of green, some plots of land with small houses nearby. Everything looked so fresh and alive. A stark comparison to the area of New York we’d just come from. The skies were now blue and the clouds were perfectly fluffy. 

It wasn’t long before we pulled into a long winding driveway, each side lined with well kept bushes of flowers. We pulled up to a two story beautifully stone built house, parts of it tastefully covered with vines and tall trees stood at its corners. There was a lovely little patio outside from what I could see. I could hear Lyric gasping as the car came to a stop. “No way we’re staying here….”

“Well I don’t feel like staying at a hotel so yes. We are.” I told her as the driver got out and opened my door. I then rounded the car and opened the door for her. Her eyes widened as she stepped out and looked around. The first thing she did was take her shoes off to walk in the soft plush grass out front. The grin on her face was something magical. I stood there a while and watched her wiggle her toes in the earth and my chest began to swell with adoration. She giggled and covered up her smile with her hands before looking at me.

“So… I can go inside there?” She asked rather childishly. I forced a laugh and nodded, shoving my hands in my pocket. She practically bolted into the house, throwing the doors open.

“And she’s off...” I chuckled as the driver began to grab our bags. I could hear her squealing from the upstairs.

“ _ Holy shit! _ ” I heard her swear and I burst into laughter. The house was pretty nice. Clean above all things, which I loved. The living space was open and looked cozy. The flooring was a pale hardwood and the walls, a detailed off white. Bricks molded the rounded archways and there was a fireplace as well. That bit I got excited about. I walked around, letting my fingertips grace the backs of the white couches and chairs, over the sea foam green colored pillows. That’s when my eyes landed on a massive, dark wood baby grand piano. Tucked in a corner was a beautiful Spanish guitar. ‘ _ She’ll get a kick out of that… _ ’ I thought as I pressed a few keys on the piano with a smirk. The driver placed our bags by the door and I paid him a generous tip, thanking him as he left us. I closed the double doors and sighed. It was going to be a long weekend.

Suddenly, Lyric appeared at the top of the stairs. “Did you see the piano?!” She exclaimed excitedly. I nodded.

“Yeah I did.” My heart was pounding from the beauty of her broad grin. “Did you see the guitar?” I asked.

“I MISSED A GUITAR?!” She began flying down the stairs to the corner I pointed at. She picked it up and her eyes seemed to light up.

“Do you play?” I asked feigning ignorance. Of course she played. You can’t be the lead singer of a band and not play.

“I play a little.” She answered coyly. I smirked.

“You’ll have to play for me some time.” I said, resting my jacket on the back of the couch and taking off my neck tie.

“You’ll have to get me really drunk. I get shy at small audiences.” She mumbled, running her thumb down the untuned strings of the instrument. The words just fell from my lips without thinking.

“You never have to be shy with me.” I said. She looked up and bit her lip nervously before setting the guitar back down. I tore my gaze from her to look down the hall. I could see the corner of a refrigerator. “Have you checked out the kitchen yet?” I asked. She shook her head no. “After you…” I gestured down the hall, stepping away to make room for her. She sauntered by and shuffled into the kitchen, me strolling behind her. 

As we stopped at the bricked threshold of the kitchen, Lyric gasped. Turning around, she had the goofiest expression and let out a silent, whispery scream. I was impressed. The cabinets were all white and the countertops were a sandy granite. There was an island with a few stools and a massive refrigerator, complete with a wine cooler, stocked with the finest Italian wine. She gave an exaggerated gasp as she opened up the wine cooler and pulled a bottle of red. She looked at me with wide eyes.

“This kitchen….  _ I have to cook in this kitchen! _ ” She exclaimed with an excited laugh. “Oh my god and  _ look! _ ” She said pointing to a massive rounded archway with double doors that led to the back. There were pillars wrapped in the greenest vines and on the bricked patio, a couple of dark arm chairs with white cushions, a coffee table was set in the middle of them decorated with a few candles and an ashtray. Along the outside wall were a few torches that could be lit on fire. Behind it was a set of bricked stairs, lined with small candles, that led into a grassy area. There was a small, rounded table near the edge where there was a magnificent view of the Italian countryside. I followed Lyric down the steps and we both stood by the edge of the grassy platform to stare at the sun still rising in the sky over the rolling hills. Further around the corner, was a decently sized pool and a hot tub. In an instant I began to think of all the things we could do. This was an unintentionally romantic place to be. If I had to be there with anyone though, I was glad it was her.

“ _Mr. Adler…._ _Thank you for taking me…._ ” She sighed in awe, hugging the red wine bottle against her chest.

“Don’t thank me. Your research brought us here. You should enjoy it.” I said, leaning into the archway.

“No, Mr. Adler you don’t get it…. This is  _ so much space… _ I…”

“If it’s what you wanna hear: you’re welcome.” I smiled. With that, I clapped my hands together and smiled. “Now. Since you’ve seen the upstairs before me, have you picked a room?” She turned to look at me with a puzzled expression.

“I was just gonna take the one you didn’t want… I mean I’m not picky.”

“ _ Oh, please _ . Don’t women need their space to do…. woman things?”

“Yeah but you’re also my boss.” She told me. I stared at her a moment. Even away from the office, she tried her best to be a good employee.

“Such manners.” I mumbled. “Alright. I’ll go take a look and I’ll holler when I make a decision.”

It didn’t take long for me to choose. Both rooms were big and clean with their own bathrooms, both had nice TVs, both came with a massive window for a fantastic view of the countryside, both had decent closet and drawer space. The only difference was one had a vanity complete with a mirror and the other did not. I sighed, imagining Lyric sitting there, putting on her makeup or doing whatever it was she did to make her skin glow the way it did. I walked back down the stairs to grab my bag and took them to my room. Then I grabbed hers and laid them on the loveseat in front of her bed. Decisions made. “Lyric, I put your stuff in your room for you!” I hollered down the steps. I could hear the small pitter patter of her bare feet on the hardwood as she approached. Not wanting to swoon more than I already had, I grunted from behind my bedroom door.

“Are you sure that’s the one you want?” She asked me. I just nodded.

“I’m sure. Listen, you were right. I’m still a little tired so I’m gonna shower and take a few more hours.” I told her.

“Okay! Well… I’ll work on getting us a car and maybe do some grocery shopping.” She smiled.

“Alright. Be careful walking around by yourself. If you need me, you have my number.”

“Of course, sir—”

“You can drop the formalities, Lyric. We’re not at the office.” I assured her. I wanted her to be comfortable. Here and around me. I could tell it baffled her a bit by the way her mouth hung open. I smiled at her a moment and took off my neck tie. “Go do what you need to do.” I told her before closing my door. I pressed my back against the door and groaned. Behaving around her was certainly going to be difficult. Especially with her just being so cute. And then there was hearing her on the plane. Those moans weren’t something I could easily forget. Shaking off the nerves, I began to unpack and ready myself for a nice long shower.


End file.
